


draw me close (in your warmth, I forget how cold it can be)

by theartofbeinganerd



Series: Marauder!Fitz and Servant!Jemma 'verse [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Apocalyptic Future AU, But OFC It's a Happy Ending, F/M, Marauder!Fitz, Servant!Jemma, There's Probably Going to be Some Angst, True Love Conquers All, no time travel, relationship beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-13 22:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14757518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartofbeinganerd/pseuds/theartofbeinganerd
Summary: In the wake of their escape from Kasius and the Lighthouse, Jemma and Fitz are finally free to be together, and to be in love. Though, as they're just beginning to take steps forward in their relationship, they're thrown right back into danger - it seems that Kasius isn't willing to let Jemma and Daisy out of his grasp so easily.Can their love do the impossible and help them escape danger yet again?A prompted sequel to my Marauder!Fitz and Servant!Jemma fic, a beautiful unfolding (of a love that will never be)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: "hello!!!! this maybe be too much to ask but i loved the marauder!fitz and slave!jemma too much to not ask. you thINKk you can maybe write some more of that AU? maybe the i love you moment, their first time, they settleling on a life together or a ansgt where the kree find them and try to get her back. or all together or somehing u want from that AU bECAUSE it was truly perfect"
> 
> So. So.....I meant for this to be written all in one. I really, REALLY did. But, I don't know what it is about this 'verse, but it apparently likes to be written in twos, so here is Part One. According to my schedule, I should be able to fit in sometime late next week, possibly around June 3rd (don't quote me on that, though).
> 
> I've got to say that it was great to revisit this 'verse, even if it has only been a few weeks since I finished the first one - I was always planning to write something like this eventually, and I was really glad when I got the prompt. 
> 
> Title is taken from Warmth by Bastille

Jemma could hardly even begin to wrap her mind around just how drastically her life had changed in a matter of days, or even just the past day _alone_. Just last week, she’d still been firmly within Kasius’s grasp, with no hope of that changing anytime soon, and resolved to her fate on the Lighthouse.

Now, she was freed, on a ship headed as far away as possible from the place that had been her home and her prison for her entire life.

And, of course, there was _Fitz_.

“Here,” Fitz said gently, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders and making sure it was secure before he retook his seat across from her on the bed in his bunk. “I should’ve warned you that it was colder out on the ship than it was on the Lighthouse.”

“It’s alright,” Jemma assured him, absently clutching the blanket and pulling it a bit tighter to ward off the chill. “So…you were talking about…your father?”

Fitz made a bit of a face at the reminder, but nodded, leaning back against the metal footboard of the bed and folding his hands together in his lap. “Yeah, right. Well, marauding was always my dad’s thing, you know? Didn’t know my mum; Dad always said that she died when I was young, but I’m not quite sure I believe him, not with the kind of man that he was. I grew up watching him lie and cheat and steal and kill, and…well, he did his best to raise me so that I followed in his footsteps, so that I could take over after he died. Which is exactly what I did, actually – didn’t have many other options, after all.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jemma murmured, leaning forward across the mattress to place her hand over both of his. She still wasn’t sure what gave her more of a thrill; the freedom to touch him without fear of being found out by someone that could hurt them, or the freedom to hear his voice as it curled so beautifully around his words. “That must’ve been horrible.”

He shrugged, turning one of his hands over beneath hers to slide his fingers between hers, his thumb caressing the skin of her wrist. “It’s nothing compared to what you’ve been through.”

Arching her eyebrows, she pointed out, “Who said we were comparing? Fitz, we’ve both been through awful things; why not just leave it at that?”

He raised his head slightly, his gaze flicking up to meet hers, and he studied her for a moment before a small smile ticked the corners of his lips upward. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. ‘Sides, what matters is…where we go from here, yeah?”

Unable to help herself, a wide, slightly breathless smile spread across Jemma’s face. “Yeah,” she replied softly. Though she still couldn’t quite believe that she was free of Kasius, and or that she was headed toward a much happier future with Fitz, it didn’t make moments like this one any less extraordinary.

Just the thought of a future with Fitz, one where she could feel this way _all the time_ had a shudder rolling down her spine, her body trembling with the force of it as it passed through her.

“Are you still cold?” Fitz asked, his brow furrowing in obvious concern.

Jemma opened her mouth to assure him that she was fine, but before she could get the words out, Fitz had already scooted across the mattress to rest up against the headboard beside her. His arms wound around her, wrapping her up in his warmth, and any thought of protest vanished from her mind as she let out a content sigh instead.

“Better?” he whispered, his lips brushing against her temple as he spoke.

“Much,” she replied quietly, closing her eyes and leaning further into him, feeling truly _safe_ for the first time in years. If there was one thing that she knew that she could trust, it was that Fitz would protect her – just as she would do everything that she could to protect him in return.

-

Doing his best to lie still so as not to disturb her, Fitz couldn’t help but gaze adoringly down at where Jemma had fallen asleep with her cheek pressed to his chest (right in the middle of their conversation, actually, and it had only served to increase his affection for her). He watched her back rising and falling with each breath, watched her eyelashes fluttering against her cheek, watched her parted lips as they released a quiet breath every few moments, utterly entranced by it all.

It had only been a handful of days since he’d first laid eyes on her, had only been a handful of _hours_ since their escape from the Lighthouse, but he knew without a doubt that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him; he hadn’t felt this _alive_ in so many years. In fact, he wasn’t sure that he’d ever even really lived his life until she’d come into it.

After the eventful past few days, he knew that he should be getting some sleep as well, could in fact feel the exhaustion settled deep within his bones, but he forced himself to stay awake, just so that he could watch her sleep peacefully for a little bit longer.

Carefully, so as not to disturb her, Fitz lifted a hand to brush a couple of strands of hair off her cheek, stroking his fingertips tenderly over her smooth skin. “ _Jemma_ ,” he sighed, following the curve of her jaw with his index finger until he could lightly thumb at her bottom lip. She was just so _beautiful_ , so absolutely incredible, and he didn’t think that he’d ever get over the novelty of being able to touch her, to hold her, to love her.

And he did love her, he was quite sure of it. Though Fitz hadn’t had much love in his life up until then, he knew that there was no other word to describe the way that he was drawn to her, the way that he treasured every breath that left her lips, the way that he would unthinkingly and without regret lay his own life down for hers. It had all happened so quickly, but it was _love_ , and he would do absolutely anything to protect it, and her.

“ _Love_ ,” he murmured to her sleeping form, just to test the word out on his lips, “Jemma, my _love_.” His hand shook, just slightly, and he had to swallow back the emotion building in his chest.

He was so preoccupied with his love for her, in fact, that he almost didn’t notice at first as her brow began to furrow, her lips tugging down into a frown. But, he did, and it had concern filling him, especially as she began to shift restlessly in his arms, her hand curling into a loose fist around the material of his shirt.

“Jemma?” Fitz prompted softly, pressing a comforting kiss to her forehead. When he noticed the dim light from the stars outside the window catching on her tears, his concern ratcheted up another level. “You’re alright, Jemma, you’re alright.” He gave her shoulder a gentle shake, then cupped the back of her head in his hand and leaned in to kiss away her tears, whispering against her skin, “I’ve got you, Jemma, I’m here, you’re alright.”

Finally, her body stilled just before she sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes flying open. For a moment, she glanced around his darkened bunk frantically, but when her eyes landed on his face, she seemed to calm slightly. “ _Fitz_ ,” she gasped out, the hand fisted in his shirt tightening.

-

“What’s wrong, Jemma? Talk to me; what’s wrong?”

Fitz’s words sounded too loud in her ears, as though he was yelling them at her, and combined with her heart pounding and the roaring engine of the ship, Jemma had to squeeze her eyes closed and clap her hands over her ears. She took a handful of sharp, hurried breaths, another wave of hot tears pouring down her cheeks.

But, as soon as her eyes were closed, she saw it all over again; her parents, their lips moving as they spoke soundlessly, their expressions growing increasingly concerned as they tried to tell her something that she couldn’t hear no matter how hard she tried. And then, they were gone, only to be replaced by Kasius’s sinister smirk, by his voice whispering in her ear, too loud compared to the deafening silence, to do his bidding.

“Jemma, sweetheart, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Fitz whispered soothingly, one hand stroking up and down her back, his lips pressing gentle kisses every few moments to the top of her head. “I’ve got you, you’re alright, I’ve got you.”

In response to his words, she felt her heartbeat finally beginning to slow back down to a more normal rhythm, her hands falling away from her ears as her body relaxed from its tensed position. Taking a couple of deep, even breaths, she reopened her eyes. He was gazing back at her, looking incredibly worried, so she murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Fitz repeated, his eyebrows darting up his forehead. “Jemma…” He moved his hand from her back up to curve along her cheek, his thumb swiping at the lingering tears there. “You don’t need to apologize, not to me and not for this, okay?”

She released another long breath, but nodded in understanding. “I just…” She shook her head, briefly squeezing her eyes shut once more, only to see her nightmare still playing there on the backs of her eyelids.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, softly, brushing his fingers through her hair and tenderly tucking a strand that had gotten stuck to her wet cheek behind her ear.

“I…” Jemma wanted to, of course, she knew that she could share anything with him, and that he would no doubt know just the words to say to make her ease her pain. But, she just couldn’t, not yet. So, she simply shook her head and buried her face in his chest as the tears fell once more, needing simply to be held by him.

And, Fitz seemed to understand, wrapping his arms back around her and holding her close, murmuring nonsense words of comfort to her as she cried, mourning the parents that she’d always hoped to see again someday but never had the chance to, and mourning all of the years that she’d spent as Kasius’s dutiful slave because of his terrible lies.

After some time, though, the tears began to slow, and she simply listened to Fitz’s heart beating beneath her cheek, and the soothing rhythm got her thinking. Despite the fact that she would always miss her parents and the fact that she would never stop being upset that they had died for absolutely nothing, she _knew_ that they would be so happy to know that she was now far away from the Lighthouse and from Kasius, and well, she was quite sure that they’d be happy that she’d found love and a future in Fitz.

 _Love_.

Her only previous experience with love had been her parents, of course, and that was clearly different from romantic love, so…it would stand to reason that she shouldn’t know that what she felt for Fitz _was_ love. But, even just now, the way that he held her, comforted her, helped to ease her heartache…she knew that love was the only word for the overwhelming wave of emotion inside of her every moment that she was with him.

She didn’t know how it was that she became so lucky as to have him brought into her life, to be rescued by him, and to loved and be loved by him, but she wasn’t going to question her good fortune; she’d had too little of it for too long to do so.

And so, it was wrapped up in that love and the safety of it, that Jemma was able to eventually slip back into sleep, content in the knowledge that Fitz had her, and that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

-

The next morning, Fitz arrived in the small commissary of the ship to find his crew all assembled there already, as well as Daisy, everyone chatting amicably over their breakfast. “’Morning,” he greeted as he grabbed his own bowl and filled it with some of the fresh terran fruit that Enoch had managed to sneak from the Lighthouse onto the ship.

“Hey, where’s Jemma?” Daisy asked around a mouthful of food, peering behind him, as though she expected Jemma to be entering the room next.

“She’s still sleeping,” Fitz answered as he took a seat at one of the two tables there, across from Daisy and Elena, and next to Mack. He noticed Elena’s eyebrows arching as Daisy’s mouth split into a grin, and he rolled his eyes, snapping dryly, “Not a word, either of you, alright?”

Elena smirked, but dutifully went back to her breakfast. Daisy didn’t say anything either, but she mimed zipping her lips, then winked pointedly before doing the same.

“So, what’s our plan, Captain?” Coulson asked him from the other table, where he sat with May and Enoch. He usually used the term ‘captain’ when referring to Fitz either teasingly or affectionately, but it always felt a bit odd to Fitz; Coulson _was_ older than him, after all, and truthfully felt a bit like the father his own had never been ( _not_ that he’d ever say that aloud, of course).

“Well, I promised Daisy that we’d drop her off at the next port, and while we’re there we might as well refuel and restock our supplies.”

“And what if Kasius sends his warriors after us for what you pulled back at the Lighthouse?” Mack questioned as he arched a skeptical brow, ever the rational one.

Fitz caught a glimpse of Daisy’s expression souring slightly, her eyes dropping to the bowl in front of her, though he couldn’t tell if it was guilt or fear that she was feeling. “I’ve had May double and triple-check that all of the proximity alarms are set, and she’s been on full-alert for anyone following us too closely; we’ll know in enough time to do something about it, alright?”

Mack still didn’t look fully convinced, but he nodded, agreeing, “Alright.”

Glancing around at the rest of his crew gathered there, Fitz suddenly felt as though he needed to explain himself, to make them understand why it was that he’d risked his life (and by extension, all of theirs) to save Jemma and Daisy. Clearing his throat to gain their attention, he began, “Look, I’m sure you all have questions and concerns about my actions back at the Lighthouse, but…but you weren’t all there, okay? Kasius had people as _slaves_ , as unwilling fighters being sold to the highest bidder, and it wasn’t right. We’re all here because we…we want to do the right thing, yeah? And that felt like the right thing, so…if you want off of this ship at the next port, I won’t stop you, but I won’t apologize for what I did either.”

There was a beat of silence, then Coulson spoke up. “I didn’t have any questions or concerns to begin with, but if I did, I think they’d all have been answered by that. Thank you, Fitz.”

“Uh, you’re welcome,” Fitz replied, giving Coulson a small, grateful nod.

“It doesn’t hurt, though, that Jemma’s quite pretty, does it?” May commented suddenly, shooting Fitz a short, knowing look as she rose from the table, placing her bowl in with the other dishes that needed to be washed. And, with Fitz looking after her with his mouth hanging open slightly, she left the commissary to no doubt head back to the cockpit.

Another silence stretched between the group, then Fitz cleared his throat once more, ducking his head slightly to hide his burning cheeks. “That’s not – that’s…not relevant.”

“What isn’t?”

Fitz turned his head quickly to find Jemma just entering the room, fortunately looking a bit more rested than she had when he’d left her earlier. There was a small, slightly confused smile playing on her lips, no doubt in response to the way that everyone in the room was staring at her.

And, hastily, before anyone else could answer, he told her, “Uh, nothing. Nothing.”

-

After breakfast, Fitz and his crew had all gone off to take care of things for the day on the ship, and so Jemma found herself lounging with Daisy in the bunk that she’d been assigned the previous day. Daisy was sprawled on her bed, her legs crossed with her feet resting on the headboard, while Jemma was curled up on the little sofa adjacent to the bed.

“So…you’re staying with the Marauders, then?” Daisy asked suddenly, turning her head to meet Jemma’s gaze.

“Well…I suppose so, yes,” Jemma replied, not really having given thought to the fact that she _had_ the option not to. “I can’t imagine _not_ being with Fitz, and he’s really doing his best to use his father’s reputation and resources for good, not evil. It’s a worthy cause to be a part of, in my opinion, and I could use some of that in my life after spending so long working for Kasius.”

Daisy hummed thoughtfully at that, lacing her fingers together and laying them over her stomach. “I’ve been thinking about things, and…I dunno, maybe I should stay too.”

“Really?” Jemma asked in surprise, and she couldn’t help her brief flash of hope; other than Fitz, Daisy was the only friend that she really had, and she’d hate to lose her.

She gave a little shrug. “Yeah, sure, why not? I mean, I know my plan was always ‘get as far away from the Lighthouse as possible’, and Fitz promised to drop me off at the next port, but…well, I never really thought about what I’d do _after_ that, y’know? But I’ve got these powers, and you said it yourself that Fitz is trying to do good, so maybe I could help with that.”

“I think that would be a wonderful use of your powers, Daisy,” Jemma assured her, “and I’m sure Fitz would be grateful for the help.”

“Yeah,” Daisy agreed quietly. “Either way, I’ll talk to him, see if we can work something out.” She was quiet for a moment, then she abruptly dropped her feet from the headboard, pushing herself into a sitting position so as to meet Jemma’s gaze fully. “So, _I_ heard that you spent the night with Fitz.”

Startled at the sudden subject change, Jemma felt her mouth drop open, her eyes growing wide as she sat up straight. “ _What_? I – I did _not_ – well, I… _did_ , but it wasn’t like that!”

Letting out an amused snort, Daisy held up her hands, as though telling Jemma to slow down. “ _Whoa_ , no need to get so defensive, Jemma! I was just teasing you, I promise.” She dropped her hands into her lap, then arched an eyebrow and pressed, “So…you guys didn’t sleep together, then? Because honestly, I’m a bit surprised – you were giving each other _total_ bedroom eyes all the time on the Lighthouse.”

“Not…in that respect, no. I _did_ sleep in his bed, but…no.” Jemma felt her cheeks flushing with heat, and averted her eyes from Daisy’s searching ones. It was at that moment, though, that she finally realized that, unlike Daisy, _she_ hadn’t been assigned her own bunk on the ship. Instead, Fitz had just led her to his with him, and that was where she’d eventually fallen asleep. It hadn’t even _occurred_ to her that such a thing was odd until just then.

When the silence began to lengthen, Jemma finally glanced back up to meet Daisy’s gaze, and found her studying her curiously. “Do you… _want_ to?” Daisy pressed carefully after another moment.

Jemma blew out a breath, her cheeks once more beginning to burn with embarrassment. It was ridiculous; she was older than Daisy by at _least_ five years, but she was starting to feel like the young and inexperienced one in the conversation. “It’s not…that I don’t want…” Letting out a short sigh, she finally admitted, “It’s just that I understand the biology behind all of this, the chemical reactions in our brains that cause love and lust, but relationships, romance…it’s all beyond me.”

Sure, she’d kissed a handful of boys that she’d known when she was younger, she’d had brief crushes and infatuations, but that was the extent of her experience on the subject. She’d been a servant to Kasius for almost a decade before Fitz had come along, and before that her focus had been on survival, not something as trivial as romance.

“Well, you seem to be doing pretty good with Fitz from what I’ve seen.” Daisy was quiet another moment, then said gently, “Jemma, it’s all a lot easier than you’re making it out to be. There isn’t some…you know, perfect equation for love and sex and relationships. If it feels right, then it probably is. If you love Fitz, then _that’s_ what matters, not thinking every step that you guys take together to death before you take it. And, if it doesn’t feel right, if you want to slow things down – I mean, you guys have been going _pretty_ fast up till now – then talk to him. Fitz is a good guy, and he’ll understand. Okay?”

Though it felt a bit odd to be on the receiving end when she’d been the one instructing and helping Daisy just days ago, Jemma was grateful for the advice, offering Daisy a warm smile as she nodded. “Thank you, Daisy.”

“Sure thing.” There was a pause, then she added, “But you totally have to tell me all about it when you finally _do_ go through with it.”

“ _Daisy_!”

And Daisy’s laughter filled the little bunk, shortly joined by Jemma’s – though it wasn’t long before the sound of it was cut short by the shrill cry of the proximity alarm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guess what still isn't finished? Oh right, this fic. It was supposed to be two parts, as I said in the last chapter, but...this all took up more space than I thought it would, and there's still a bit to get through, so.....part three will be posted sometime next week. Yikes.

 

Rushing determinedly toward the cockpit, his hasty footsteps clanking on the metal floorplates, Fitz came to brief stop as he caught sight of Coulson and Mack hovering outside the armory.

“Fitz, are we under attack?” Coulson asked, his expression solemn and serious.

Fitz’s gaze shot up toward one of the red flashing proximity alarm lights just above them, and took a breath, admitting, “I’m not sure yet. But, we should prepare for a fight.”

Receiving a pair of understanding nods from them, Fitz took off once more, following the maze of halls with ease. Just as he was reaching the cockpit, though, he felt the ship lurch as it came to an abrupt halt, followed quickly by the lights going out and the emergency lights flickering on.

As soon as he was through the door, he demanded, “What is going _on_?”

Inside were May and Enoch, and he could just barely hear May swearing under her breath as she fiddled with the controls, to no avail. “It’s a Kree ship right on our tail,” she snapped, finally giving up on the controls and swiveling her chair around to face him. Though her expression was flat, he could see the harsh set of her brows that meant that she was _incredibly_ irritated.

“They have disabled the ship’s systems,” Enoch informed them matter-of-factly, the slight arch of his eyebrows his only reaction to the _very_ unsettling news.

“Well how the _hell_ did they manage that?” Fitz asked in disbelief, just as the sound of a loud _clank_ from above them echoed throughout the ship.

“And now, they are boarding us,” Enoch added, even though the explanation wasn’t exactly necessary.

Fitz’s first thought was _Jemma_ – he had no idea where she was on the ship, had no idea whether the Kree were boarding to take Jemma and Daisy back to the Lighthouse, or simply to _dispose_ of them for escaping in the first place. But, he wasn’t about to just wait around and find out.

“I’ve got to find Jemma,” Fitz gasped, immediately taking a step toward the door, intent on finding her, on keeping her safe.

However, he was almost instantly stalled by something grabbing his arm, and he glanced back sharply to find May reaching out to halt his progress. “Fitz, no,” she said firmly, “you need to get our systems back online first, or else there’s no point in trying to protect her. You know that no one knows them like you do.”

For a moment, Fitz had a flash of memory, brought back to the days that he had spent as a child hiding from his father in the tiny compartments of the avionics bay. Eventually, he’d becoming curious and had begun exploring, carefully taking things apart to inspect them, to learn what they were and what they did, how they worked, until one day he’d known the ship like the back of his hand. It was true; this was _his_ ship, more than it had ever been his father’s.

Still, he hesitated for another moment, struggling with the urge to stay by Jemma’s side until the danger had passed, and he could be assured that she was alright. Ultimately, though, he agreed, “Alright. Alright, I’ll go.”

And, with that, he left them behind in the cockpit and began racing through the halls once more, this time intent on getting to the avionics bay as quickly as possible. As he darted through the ship, his only hope was that Jemma and Daisy were still together – surely they’d be able to hold their own against whatever Kasius sent their away, as long as they were together.

-

Cautiously, Jemma peered around the edge of the door to Daisy’s bunk and out into the darkened halls of the ship. Glancing back and forth a couple of times, she then leaned back inside the room, closing the door once more.

“There’s no one out there,” she informed Daisy, turning back around to face her where she was perched on the edge of her bed. With the power out, the room was even darker than the hall, however, and she could just barely see the outline of her in the weak light from the stars outside the bunk’s tiny window.

“So…what are we supposed to do in a situation like this?” Daisy asked, holding up her hands helplessly. “Do we try to find the others, or do we stay put? Is there some kind of like…protocol or something?”

To be completely honest, all Jemma wanted to do just then was to find Fitz, wherever he was, and confirm for her own sanity that he was safe. She wanted to make sure that he didn’t leave her sight until the danger had passed, and assure herself with her own two eyes that he was okay and in one piece. But, she also imagined that her being by his side would only put him in _more_ danger – after all, she had the feeling that Fitz would focus all of his attention on protecting her rather than himself, which was the very last thing that she wanted.

So, she simply had to trust that he could protect himself, and try not to worry herself sick over it.

Giving a shake of her head, trying to shake off her preoccupation, and shrugging her shoulders, Jemma admitted to Daisy, “I’m not sure – this _is_ my first trip on a spaceship, after all.”

Daisy was quiet for a lengthy moment, then asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “Do you think it’s Kasius?”

Jemma pressed her lips together, her hand tightening on the doorframe, and she did her level best not to think about being forced back into his service, to think about having to spend anymore of her life in silence and watching unspeakable evil, but not being able to do a single thing to stop it. She couldn’t even begin to stomach the horrible thought – but, she was quick to remind herself that Fitz would keep them safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them, she was sure of it.

To Daisy, she said firmly, “It doesn’t matter; whoever it is, Fitz and his crew will stop them.”

There was a beat, then Daisy hopped up from her bed, stepping up to join Jemma by the door. Determinedly, she said, “Well then, I’m not staying here like some damsel in distress – I’m gonna go out there and help them.” She opened the door a crack, then turned back to Jemma, and asked, “You coming?”

Though Jemma knew that she couldn’t do much to help fight off whoever the invaders were, she also knew that she would much rather be out there, doing _something_ , rather than waiting in there to be found by whoever it was. So, she nodded, wordlessly following Daisy out into the hall.

-

“Here we are,” Fitz muttered to himself as he finally reached the avionics bay, throwing a quick glance over either shoulder to make sure that he was alone before slipping into the small room. He’d calculated that the Kree must’ve at least entered the ship by then, and he didn’t have the faintest clue _where_ they’d entered, or where they could be now. After all, he’d hate to be caught unawares by one of Kasius’s trained warriors.

Blinking rapidly, he struggled to adjust to the darkness of the room, only broken up by the flashing of the tiny lights on either wall lined with the ship’s systems. The emergency lights from the halls didn’t quite reach inside of it, and he didn’t think that he able to find the source of their problem if he couldn’t actually _see_ it.

Grumbling under his breath, he crossed the room carefully, making sure not to bump into anything important, finally reaching a drawer with equipment stored inside of it. He shuffled his hand through the loose wrenches and screwdrivers, looking for…

“ _Ah_.” Victoriously, he held up the old-fashioned electronic torch that he’d remembered being in there the last time he’d done repairs in the bay. Flicking it on and clamping it between his teeth so that he could have both hands free, he moved over to the navigation systems to check through them first.

After a short while, he began to hear the sound of shouts every so often, to hear the sound of bodies clanging against the metal floors. And, he couldn’t help but cringe every single time, praying that it wasn’t his people, and that he hadn’t made a grave mistake by putting them in danger for his own selfish reasons.

Because, yes, he’d saved Jemma and Daisy because it had been the right thing to do, but he had to admit (to himself, at least) that the main reason that he’d wanted to take Jemma away from there was because he hadn’t been able to bear leaving her behind. He’d done it because he _loved_ her, and because he didn’t want to continue on in his life without her.

Fitz knew that it wasn’t what his crew was there for, that they hadn’t asked to be targets of the Kree, and he could only hope that they were all as good as he thought they were to get out of the mess that their captain had led them into – and to come out of it unscathed.

He’d never be able to forgive himself if someone that he cared about got hurt, all because of his desperate need to be with Jemma.

After some searching, the beam of his torch finally illuminated the system that had been affected by whatever technology the Kree had used on them, and fortunately, he already had a solution beginning to form in his head. “A- _ha_ ,” he mumbled around the shaft of the torch, and immediately moved to get to work.

However, he’d barely begun when he heard a muffled _bang_ , and felt only white hot _pain_.

-

Keeping especially silent, almost afraid to even _breathe_ , Jemma followed closely behind Daisy as she led the way through the ship, hand raised defensively and at the ready to use her powers to take down anyone hostile that crossed their path. She could hear the sounds of what appeared to be several different fights echoing through the steel-plated walls, and she had to fight down the now almost overwhelming fear that Fitz was involved in one, that he was somewhere on that ship, seriously injured, or _worse_.

She knew, of course, that he could hold his own, that he was resourceful, but she just couldn’t help it – though she imagined that she was in quite a bit danger herself at the moment, finding him and making sure that he was alright was _all_ that she could think of just then. Being away from him, being kept in the dark as to whether he was okay or not had her heart thundering in her chest, had her clammy hands curling into shaking fists.

How cruel of the universe would it be for them to have just found each other, only to lose each other days later?

“It’s too quiet,” Daisy whispered suddenly, interrupting Jemma’s increasingly terrified thoughts, her voice seeming too almost loud when they hadn’t spoken since leaving her bunk.

At her words, Jemma realized that the sounds of the nearest struggle _had_ disappeared at some point, and just as she was asking Daisy softly, “Should we –” she cut herself abruptly.

Something came flying out of a connecting hall just ahead of them – _right_ at Daisy.

“Daisy!” Jemma cried, falling back against the wall behind her as she hurriedly stepped away from the fight – she’d only get in the way, after all, and Daisy didn’t need to be worrying about her just then.

For a moment, all she could see was the darkened shapes of the two figures fighting, one rough and choppy, and the other practiced and fluid, but then a flash of the emergency lighting hit the second figure just right, and she recognized her immediately as Sinara, Kasius’s fiercest warrior.

 _Oh no_.

Daisy blasted Sinara away with her powers, but it was only seconds before she was back up on her feet. She swung a kick at Daisy that caught her by surprise, throwing her into one of the walls – _hard_. Daisy let out a sharp gasp as the wind was likely knocked from her lungs, and she slumped to the ground as though she was suddenly boneless.

However, as Sinara advanced on her, Daisy managed to roll out of the way, throwing her hand out and quaking her backward, back into the darkness that she’d so suddenly appeared from.

Jemma, seeing her opportunity, raced over to Daisy and carefully helped her back to her feet. “Are you alright?” she asked in a hushed voice, her eyebrows raised in concern. She’d seen Sinara fight before, and she’d seen fighters twice Daisy’s size taken down by her in mere _moments_.

“She’s one hell of a fighter,” Daisy replied weakly, leaning some more of her weight on Jemma as she added with a shake of her head, “I’m not sure that I can take her alone.”

“Maybe you won’t have to take her at all,” Jemma murmured, glancing around worriedly before beginning to lead Daisy away from there before Sinara got back up.

However, just as they were taking the first steps, she noticed the Kree woman stalking back toward them, her eyes narrowed in intent.

-

Letting out a low groan of pain, Fitz managed to catch himself on the communication systems in front of him as he wobbled dangerously on his feet. His torch fell from his lips, landing on the ground below him with a solid _crack_. Instantly, the light went out, and he clasped a hand to his burning stomach as he searched wildly for his assailant in the pitch blackness.

In the weakly flashing lights of the bay, he was finally able to see the shadow of the Kree warrior advancing on him, the shape of what could only be a gun held in his hands.

Taking a shallow breath, Fitz abruptly dropped to his knees, biting back a cry as it sent another burst of pain through his body. He caught himself on his free hand, the slickness of the blood leaking from his wound making his other hand warm and slippery, and he was beginning to feel a bit faint from the blood loss.

He could hear the measured footsteps of the warrior, obviously searching for him in the darkness that left him just as blind as Fitz. Just as he was getting close, Fitz stretched out of his hand for the fallen torch. He closed his fingers around it, waiting for the perfect moment, then swinging it upward just in time to strike a blow on the other man.

Fumbled footsteps and a grunt of pain were followed by the clatter of his gun hitting the ground, and Fitz immediately sought it out, shaking hand frantically patting the ground for it. Just as his fingertips brushed the barrel of the gun, however, he found himself abruptly tackled to the ground.

A hiss of pain left his lips as he felt the broken glass from the torch digging into his back, but he ignored it as he struggled desperately against the Kree. A sharp cry was wrenched from him when a well-aimed knee got him in his gunshot wound, but he continued to grapple with the warrior regardless of the pain that was beginning to make his head slightly fuzzy.

Eventually, he gained the upper hand on the Kree, shoving him back into the ground and pressing a knee into his stomach to try and make sure that he stayed there – only to be thrust to the side by the obviously much stronger man moments later. Fitz’s back slammed roughly up against the wall of systems behind him, and then he crumpled to the ground.

Breathing with difficulty now, Fitz just barely managed to see the shadow of the Kree warrior stumbling back to his feet. He did, however, have no problems hearing the cocking of the gun moments later.

-

A weakened Daisy shoved Jemma behind her, seemingly ignoring her protests as she held up her hand, clearly intent on fighting Sinara off once more. Desperately, Jemma tried to think of something, _anything_ that she could do to help her friend; even with her powers, it wasn’t enough to make up for her unpolished fighting skills, not against someone like Sinara.

Sinara must have realized that she had them cornered then too, because Jemma managed to catch a flash of a satisfied smirk curling her lips – just before a shadow peeled away from the rest of the darkness, flying out of nowhere to tackle the Kree woman with a fierce battle cry.

Jemma’s jaw dropped open in amazement as she watched the two fighting, exchanging kicks and punches, both expertly dodging just as many as they landed. In the flickering lights in the hall and the rapid movement of the fighters, she finally managed to get enough of a glimpse to realize that the shadow was _May_ , who Fitz had introduced to her as ‘the pilot’. Though the woman had had a quiet menace about her, Jemma could’ve never _imagined_ that she was such an amazing fighter.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Daisy whispered, speaking the exact words that Jemma was thinking right about then. As May gained a slight upper hand and knocked Sinara into a wall with a spin and a kick, she blurted out, “You _have_ to teach me how to do that!”

May threw a smirk over her shoulder at them, but said nothing as Sinara leap back up, engaging her once more.

And, though May was certainly holding her own, Jemma sincerely doubted that she could go on like this forever, and they _were_ just standing there. So, she hissed to Daisy, “We’ve got to help her.”

“Do we?” Daisy countered disbelievingly, obviously in awe of the older woman. But, she listened as Jemma whispered an idea, and nodded firmly in agreement with it when she was finished.

Slowly, cautiously, they crept through the hall until Daisy was in position. And, almost as though May already knew what they were planning, she led Sinara right into place, then dropped onto her back and out of the way. Taking her cue, Daisy fell to her knees and blasted her powers upward at Sinara, knocking her roughly into the ceiling, only for her to hit the floor _hard_.

May climbed to her feet and dusted herself off, then kicked Sinara’s shoulder slightly, making sure that she was out. Then, she turned to Daisy, shooting her an appraising look, as though she was impressed. “So, that’s why they’re so desperate to get you back.”

However, before either of them could say anything else, Jemma questioned May hurriedly, “Where’s Fitz?”

-

Out of options and weak from the fight and his injuries, Fitz could only lay there and wait for what was sure to be the end. He squeezed his eyes closed tightly, hoping that his crew got out of this alright, and that they kept Jemma safe for him – as long as they were all okay, it was enough (though, in a perfect world, he’d like to see Jemma’s beautiful face one last time, to hold her, to kiss her, to finally tell her that he loved her – unfortunately, the world was far from perfect).

However, instead of feeling another bullet tearing through him like he’d prepared himself for, he heard a grunt, then the impact of something hitting something else, followed shortly by a body collapsing on the floor loudly.

Slowly, Fitz cracked his eyes open cautiously, peering through the darkness of the room. Then, his eyes sprung open fully as he found Mack towering over him, his beloved “shotgun axe” in one hand, and the other held out to help him up. “I’ve got you, Turbo,” he told him gently as he lifted Fitz back up to his feet.

Breathing a long sigh of relief and sagging back against the wall, Fitz said, “Thanks, Mack.” He took a moment to catch his breath, then asked, “How’s everyone else?”

Moving to holster his shotgun axe on his back, Mack explained, “Coulson, Elena, and I took out a handful of Kree near the armory, then I came looking for you. Saw Enoch in the cockpit on the way, and he said this is where you were headed. Don’t know ‘bout May, Daisy, and Jemma, but I imagine that if Daisy’s powerful enough that they’re crossing the galaxy to get her back, she’s powerful enough to beat some Kree asses – and we all know May.”

“Yeah,” Fitz agreed with a weak chuckle, relieved to find that they’d apparently all come out the other side of the attack unharmed. He pushed himself off of the wall then, stumbling across the small space to the opposite side. Leaning heavily against it, he picked back up where he’d left off in correcting the systems and getting them back online – and, with Mack’s help (and without the threat of being shot, of course), they were finished in no time.

As the lights flickered back on and the whir of the ship powering back up filled the room, Fitz said once more, relief coating his tone, “Thank you, Mack.”

“Don’t mention it,” Mack replied with a shake of his head. He wrapped an arm around Fitz’s shoulders, letting him lean on him as they stepped over the knocked out Kree and into the hall to meet back up with the others. Clearing his throat, he went on, “I know that I haven’t been completely on board with your decision to take a servant and an Inhuman from the Kree, but, you’re right – it _was_ the right thing to do.” He gave Fitz’s shoulders a supportive little squeeze then, grinning down at him as he added, “Plus, I see how you look at her, man, and…well, what’s a more worthy cause than love?”

Though Fitz could feel his face heating slightly at Mack’s words, he smiled up at him regardless. And, giving him a weak elbow to the ribs for the tease, he agreed, “Yeah, guess there isn’t one.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here is the final part of this installment in the Marauder!Fitz/Servant!Jemma 'verse - though, I have a very good feeling that this isn't going to be the last installment that I'll write... ;D

Watching as May and Daisy hauled the last of the unconscious Kree into the ship’s escape pod, Jemma anxiously chewed at her bottom lip, throwing a glance at the empty hallway behind them.

“Enoch said that Mack went to find Fitz,” May said suddenly, recapturing Jemma’s attention. Directing a knowing look at her, she finished, “He’s fine, Simmons.”

“I know, I know. I just…don’t like not knowing,” Jemma admitted, clasping her hands together and grimacing.

“Listen to May – she’s pretty smart.”

Her eyebrows rising, Jemma turned to watch as Mack approached them, what was _actually_ the last of the unconscious Kree slung over his shoulder. He grunted with effort, tossing the man into the pod with the others.

“Fitz is alright, then?” she pressed, bringing her clasped hands up to her chest and holding her breath as she waited for his answer.

Chuckling, Mack clapped one of his large hands on her shoulder and nodded. “Yeah, he’s alright. A little banged up, but that’s about it. He was just as worried ‘bout you, last time I saw him.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jemma smiled warmly up at Mack and murmured, “Thank you.”

As May closed the doors on the pod, Mack explained to them, “Fitz wants to regroup as soon as we can; he called a meeting in the commissary in five.”

May gave a nod of understanding, then pressed the button to launch the pod out of the ship, and into the empty space beneath it. Then, slapping the button to communicate with the Kree ship that was still on their tail, she said shortly, “You might want to go retrieve that pod – your people are on it.” And then, with that, she turned on her heel and headed in the direction of the commissary.

For a moment, the three of them simply watched her striding away, but then Daisy commented aloud, “Dude, she’s _amazing_.” As they began to follow her, she asked Mack, “Hey, what do you think it’ll take to get her to train me?”

He gave a deep chuckle at that, throwing his arm around her shoulders briefly and giving her a little squeeze. "Don’t worry about it – if May wants to train you, you’ll know.”

By the time that they arrived in the commissary, everyone else had already gathered there. They were all circled around one of the tables, and as Jemma approached it, she could see Fitz sitting at the head of it, slouching slightly and with drying blood caking his paler-than-normal face here and there, but _alive_.

Without really paying any mind to the others, she made a direct beeline toward him, feeling that she was only able to breathe properly once she’d found his hand with hers, once she could reassure with her own hands and eyes that he was okay. “ _Fitz_ ,” she breathed, a wide, relieved smile curving her lips.

“ _Jemma_.” His tone matched hers as he gazed up at her in clear relief and awe, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He gave her hand a small squeeze, his thumb stroking her knuckles.

Someone pointedly cleared their throat then, and Jemma felt her cheeks heating with embarrassment as she suddenly became aware once more that they most certainly were not alone. She turned to face the others, and had the feeling from Coulson’s amused, slightly awkward smirk that he was the one that had interrupted their moment.

“Sorry,” she murmured, briefly dropping her gaze to the table between them.

-

“Er…right,” Fitz started, dragging his free hand through his hair and not quite meeting anyone’s eyes, “I’m… _ahem_ , I’m glad to see that everyone’s alright and in one piece. I called you all here to…to apologize for what happened today, as it was my actions that brought the Kree after us. That’s not to say that I regret them,” he added quickly, giving Jemma’s hand another, brief squeeze, “but I regret that any of you had to be involved.”

There was a beat of silence, then Mack spoke up. “Well, those are the breaks of doing the right thing, sometimes. It’s just part of the job.”

Relieved to find that he still had the support of his crew, even after what he’d brought upon them, Fitz offered Mack a grateful smile.

“Do you think that they will keep chasing after us?” Elena asked from where she stood beside Mack, her eyebrows arching in concern. “Not that we can’t take care of them.” At that, a pleased little smirk crossed her lips.

“Knowing Kasius? Probably not,” Jemma answered, shaking her head. “He’s proud, yes, and we’ve wounded his ego terribly. But, we’ve shown that we can defeat his warriors, and he doesn’t enter into a conflict that he isn’t sure that he’ll win.”

“Smart move,” May muttered, folding her arms over her chest.

Daisy slapped her hands down on the table then, gaining everyone’s startled attention. “Are you all kidding me?” She glanced around at each of them, her eyebrows high on her forehead in disbelief. “I thought it was clear what we had to do. We _have_ to go back there! You saw what we did to those Kree – working together, as a team, we could take them out for good, and free everyone on the Lighthouse.”

For a moment, all that followed her statement was a slightly stunned silence; even Fitz wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. But, finally, Elena reminded her quietly, “That’s not what we signed up for.”

“No, maybe not,” Daisy agreed without missing a beat, “but you know that it’s the right thing to do. I thought that’s what you guys were all about.”

In response, Elena simply dropped her gaze to the table in front of her, possibly in guilt, possibly in shame.

Daisy waited another moment, but when no one said anything else, she then went on, “I mean, with my powers, and how May apparently kicks some major ass, and – I saw all of those other Kree. I didn’t actually see you guys fight, but it’s clear that you can cause some damage too. It makes _sense_. Jemma and I, we lived on the Lighthouse our whole lives. It’s _miserable_ , all because the Kree are controlling everything that we do. They control how much we eat, when we eat, what we do and don’t have. They even make us _kill_ each other, just because they can.”

“Daisy’s right,” Jemma murmured, and Fitz glanced up at her to see her eyes shining with unshed tears, her jaw clenched slightly at what were no doubt horrible memories, and his heart absolutely ached for her. “We may have gotten out, but there are still so many people left there under Kasius’s reign. All of the horrible things that he does are still happening; selling Inhumans, enslaving people, it didn’t all go away just because we escaped.”

“Well,” Coulson started, planting his hands on his hips and nodding toward Fitz, “Fitz is the captain, so I say we leave it up to him.”

Suddenly finding himself with all eyes on him, Fitz shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. Before he answered, he glanced up at Jemma, and found her gazing at him encouragingly. It was obvious to him that she would support whatever decision that he made, and he was grateful for that – though it didn’t make the decision any easier on him. “I…I may be your captain, but I won’t ask any of you to enter into a battle that isn’t yours to fight,” he finally said.

He was the captain, their leader, yes, but that didn’t mean that he would ask his crew, his _friends_ , to potentially die for a cause that they might not even believe in.

“You don’t _have_ to ask,” Coulson told him simply, reaching over from his spot on Fitz’s other side to rest a hand on his shoulder supportively. Turning to the others, he arched an eyebrow and asked, “Are we all in agreement?”

-

Jemma felt relief and fear blossoming inside of her simultaneously as she listened to Fitz’s crew members agree with Coulson one after the other, until they had come to a final decision. Of course she wanted to help free everyone that was still there, under Kasius’s thumb, but on the other hand…she wasn’t sure that she was ready to go back to the place where she’d experienced so much pain quite so soon.

However, it didn’t appear as if she had a choice, as Fitz then said, “Well, it looks as though we’re heading back to the Lighthouse, then.” Turning to May, he told her, “Set us a course, May.”

She nodded in understanding, then wordlessly left the commissary to follow the instruction. The rest of the crew began to disperse then, and Daisy stepped up to Fitz to say softly, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he assured her, waving away her gratitude. “Like you said, it’s the right thing to do.”

Daisy smiled warmly at him, but then winced and reached up to touch a deep cut on her cheek. “ _Ouch_ ,” she muttered, pulling her hand back to look at the blood on her fingertips.

“Oh,” Jemma murmured, releasing Fitz’s hand to get closer to her, inspecting the cut carefully. “Does this ship have a first aid kit? I could sew that up for you.”

“I’ll get that for you,” Mack offered, and she thanked him as he left the room to retrieve the kit.

Glancing around at the others still gathered there and seeing minor injuries here and there, she offered, “I can take care of any other wounds anyone may have. My mother’s mother was a nurse, years ago, and she passed the skills down to my mother, who passed them down to me.” After all, she’d like to do something productive with the skills – something to maybe wipe away the memory of being enslaved by Kasius for them.

“We have needed a medic on this ship for some time,” Elena told her, a little grin ticking her lips up as she joined her and Daisy.

“Well, I’m glad to be of assistance, then.”

Jemma spent the next half an hour or so patching up everyone’s minor wounds, from wrapping up Elena’s bruised ribs, to stitching up a cut on Coulson’s upper arm (and she’d been in for quite a shock when he’d rolled up his sleeve, and she’d noticed his detachable arm – he’d apparently lost it in a fight years ago), but finally, she’d fixed everyone up and sent them on their way.

Then, she went to move onto Fitz, who had insisted that he could wait until everyone else had been seen to, but she was startled to find that he was no longer in the commissary with her. Quickly realizing that he’d probably disappeared while she was busy tending to the others, Jemma rolled her eyes and packed up the kit, intent on finding him and taking care of him, whether he liked it or not.

It didn’t take her long to find him in his bunk, lying on his bed with his hands folded over his stomach. “There you are,” she said by way of greeting, closing the door behind herself and setting the kit on the bed beside him. “Here, this will help a bit with blood loss; you looked pale earlier.” She handed him a cup of water, eyeing him critically.

“M’always pale,” Fitz muttered, but he took the cup regardless, taking a long sip before setting it on the table beside his bed.

“Now, where did all of this blood come from?” Jemma asked, crouching slightly to get a good look at his face. Fortunately, the cuts there seemed to be mostly superficial, but it didn’t appear to be the only place that he was bleeding from.

With a great, heaving sigh, Fitz pushed himself up into a sitting position, grumbling, “S’nothing,” even as he lifted the hem of his shirt and revealed a bloodied wound from what appeared to be a bullet graze.

“ _Fitz_!” she gasped in horror, dropping to her knees on the floor in front of him. Carefully, her trembling hand reached out to lightly press against the angry skin around his wound, and tears immediately built along the rims of her eyes as he flinched, hissing in pain. “I should’ve seen to you _first_ , why didn’t you tell me?”

“S’nothing,” he repeated, shaking his head.

Angrily, Jemma opened the kit, shooting a dangerous glare up at Fitz as she grabbed a clean cloth and began to carefully wipe away some of the blood. “It is not _nothing_ , Fitz. This is…” Not quite able to put the horror, the anger, the sadness into words, she simply shook her head at him.

-

Fitz watched Jemma warily as she stitched up his wound, noting that the tense set of her shoulders hadn’t eased, and that her brow was still furrowed in clear annoyance with him. He didn’t dare try to speak to her when she was so upset with him, and knew that he just had to give her time to stew about it – she had the right to be angry with him, after all.

Jemma didn’t speak again until she’d finished, sitting back on her heels and finally looking up to meet his eyes as she asked, “Is there anything else I should know about?” Instead of the hard tone that she’d used with him before, her voice was now just soft, tired, and it somehow made him feel even worse.

“My…um…” Swallowing, Fitz thumbed over his shoulder, at his back. “I think I’ve got some cuts on my back.”

She nodded wordlessly, collecting her supplies and replacing them in the kit before standing. Climbing onto the bed behind him, she carefully grasped the hem of his shirt in her hands, then began to lift it. He raised his arms to help her (only indulging in his pained wince at the movement since he was sure that she wouldn’t see it), and once it was off, she tossed it onto the floor, at his feet.

After a moment, Fitz felt her gentle fingertips caressing his skin, and he had to briefly close his eyes and take a deep, calming breath. Once she’d finally gotten started on cleaning up and bandaging them, he finally spoke up to tell her what had been on his mind since the Kree had invaded, needing to just get the words out, needing her to understand.

“Jemma,” he started, his voice low and rough with emotion, and he felt her fingers briefly pause, “I… When I realized that we were being attacked, that it was the Kree…my very first thought was of you. Not myself, not my crew, _you_.” He was quiet a moment, then took a deep breath and went on, “I care about my crew, ‘course. They’re my friends, a bit like family, and I wouldn’t want to lose any of them. But…but I have _never_ cared for someone the way that I…that I care for you. I’ve never had someone that I just _can’t_ lose, that I can’t imagine no longer having in my life. It’s…terrifying, I suppose. But…in a good way.”

With her behind him like she was, Fitz couldn’t see her face, let alone her reaction to his raw, honest words (most likely some of the most soul-bearing words that he’d ever spoken, which was terrifying in and of itself), could only feel as her hands stalled against his back.

When her silence began to drag on, he began to fear that he’d pushed her too far too soon, or that her feelings weren’t on the same level as his, that she needed more time. A bit worriedly, he prompted her, “Jemma?”

Jemma was silent for another beat, then she shifted on the bed so that she could kneel beside him, cupping his face within her palms. Meeting his gaze unwaveringly, she murmured, “Fitz…I feel the same way.”

“You do?” he asked, unable to help the little sigh of relief that he gave.

Laughing quietly and rolling her eyes, she replied, “Of _course_ I do. I’m terrified by the way that I feel about you too, Fitz. That’s why…why I was so _angry_ with you for not telling me how badly you’d gotten hurt. You can’t… Don’t hide things like that from me, okay? It’s only going to drive me even crazier with worry.”

Reaching up to cover one of his hands with his, Fitz gave her a small, apologetic smile, promising, “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask.” She gazed at him warmly, and he felt his stomach do an odd little flip as she tenderly carded her fingers through his hair. Then, she leaned in to brush her lips against his, her hand sliding down to curve along his jaw.

Jemma’s lips met his softly once, twice, three times before she leaned in to press against them more firmly. His hands automatically moved to grasp at her waist, needing something to hold onto as she tilted her head and deepened the kiss, cupping the back of his head to keep him close.

And, then she leaned into him a bit more, dropping her hand from his jaw to his shoulder to give it a little push. More than a little caught off-guard, he went along with it, falling back against the bed and taking Jemma with him.

Fitz broke away from the kiss to meet her gaze in concern, prompting softly, “Jemma?”

But, she simply smiled and nodded, then leaned back in to capture his lips once more.

-

Though space was much colder than she’d imagined it would be, Jemma felt warmer and safer at that moment than she had in _years_. Truthfully, she thought that lying in Fitz’s arms with her cheek pressed to his chest and all of his warm, bare skin pressed against hers was now her absolute favorite place in the universe to be.

Idly, she trailed her fingertips over his abdomen beneath the blankets, a little frown crossing her lips as she felt the rough edge of the bandage that she’d placed over his gunshot wound. But, she fought down her reaction to it, reminding herself that Fitz was alright, he was in her arms, and they were together. That was what was important, after all (even if she was still a _little_ mad at him).

Turning her head to drop a kiss over his heart before settling back in, Jemma thought to herself with a little roll of her eyes that she’d been worried over nothing earlier that day. Sure, just about everything that she was experiencing in her relationship with Fitz was new to her, but it all felt so, so utterly _right_. Daisy had been correct about that, of course.

Suddenly, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh, remembering Daisy’s statement about having to ‘tell her all about it’ once they’d actually gone through with it.

“What?” Fitz questioned softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and stroking his fingertips up and down her arm.

“Nothing,” Jemma replied, giving a little shake of her head.

He grew quiet once more, then gave her shoulder a small squeeze and asked gently, “Jemma…how do you feel about going back to the Lighthouse?”

She frowned at the question, closing her eyes and absently tapping her fingertips against his ribs as she thought about her answer. Finally, with a soft sigh, she murmured, “I’m…afraid. Afraid of us failing, and ending back up in Kasius’s servitude, afraid of losing you, afraid of going from being so happy to being miserable once more. But…I know that it’s what’s right, and I want to help those people. And, well, I imagine that I’ll be able to sleep better knowing that I didn’t simply abandon everyone that’s still enslaved there.”

Jemma felt Fitz nod in understanding, his thumb drawing an absent circle on her upper arm. After a lengthy moment, he asked, “How long have you been having the nightmares?”

The previous night came back to her in a rush, her nightmare still playing before her eyes as Fitz had done his very best to comfort her, to get her through it, even though he’d probably had no idea what was happening at the time.

Releasing a sigh, she gave a little shrug. “Well, that’s…complicated. I’ve been dreaming of my parents ever since Kasius took me, but they’re only nightmares every so often. Usually it’ll be when I’ve had an especially tough day, or something awful has happened. And…they’re always soundless.”

“Soundless?” Fitz repeated, his interest obviously piqued. “Because of the implant?”

“Yes,” Jemma answered with a small nod. “It was quite…traumatic, having my hearing taken in such a way. Up until he had me start working with Inhumans, the only thing that I was able to hear for so long was his voice.”

She felt his hand clench around her shoulder, just briefly, before it relaxed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, dropping another tender kiss on the top of her head.

Shaking her head to tell him wordlessly that it was alright, she went on, “After the dreams, I’m always left feeling…profoundly empty, alone. I’ve been abandoned, and Kasius has me trapped; there’s no hope left to be found.” She was quiet, contemplative, for a moment, then smiled softly and went on, “If only you could save me in my dreams like you did in reality.”

Fitz gave a quiet chuckle, stroking her shoulder with his thumb and turning his head to press a kiss to her temple. “I’ll do my best,” he replied, repeating the words of his promise from earlier.

Pushing herself up onto her elbow, Jemma reached up to cup his beloved face in her palm, drawing her thumb lightly over his bottom lip. Never having been more certain of anything in her life, and never having been more grateful for the ability to speak and listen as she pleased, she whispered, “I love you, Fitz.”

His eyes grew incredibly soft, his lips parted to let out a rush of breath, and she felt his hand tremble, just slightly, against her back. And even though she was reasonably sure that from his earlier confession that he loved her in return, her heart still skipped a beat as he murmured, “ _Jemma_ … I love you. _I love you_.”

Laughing around the brilliant smile that spread across her face, Jemma leaned down to kiss him, mumbling over and over against his lips, “ _Love you, love you, love you_.”

They may have been headed back to the Lighthouse, to the place where she’d experienced years and years of misery and emotional trauma, but just then, it simply didn’t matter.

She and Fitz were in love, and she had never been happier.

And, that night, Jemma fell asleep and found herself having the very same dream that she always did – however, this time, Fitz was there. He rescued her from her enslavement, and together, they took down Kasius, escaped, and flew off into space, into a brighter future.

When she woke the next morning, it was to find herself curled up in Fitz’s embrace, her new favorite place, her new _home_. Feeling completely safe and loved, a warm smile curved her lips, and Jemma knew then with absolute certainty that everything really would be alright, as long as they were together.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on tumblr - I'm theartofbeinganerd over there as well!


End file.
